Loveland priest helps create self-sustaining school systems in Africa

The Rev. Evan Armatas and International Orthodox Christian Charities partner to enhance education in Uganda

By James Garcia

Reporter-Herald Staff Writer

Posted:
08/17/2014 08:44:07 PM MDT

Decades of civil war and the AIDS pandemic have created 2.7 million orphans in Uganda.

And even more children are currently without the ability to get an education, according to a press release from the International Orthodox Christian Charities, partners in the St. Nektarios Education Fund.

"Our basic goal is to provide the educational resources and facilities for children in need. They're not religion-based schools, but rather our target has been to establish facilities where there aren't any other facilities," said the Rev. Evan Armatas of Loveland's St. Spyridon Greek Orthodox Church and director of the fund.

But unlike many other "charity tourists," as Armatas refers to them, the fund he created while in doctoral school doesn't enter a community, build a school with outside construction teams and appoint faculty. Instead, he helps the community support itself.

"The schools themselves are community-run; meaning all the technical resources, teachers, construction, all of that is developed in the community which the school is built. In that sense, we don't consider ourselves building schools for them, we're giving them a leg up," he said.

The vision of the fund has changed from its inception in 2002, when it began as a scholarship program, it has since grown to something that not only brings together students to learn, but a community to learn how to teach.

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"Our vision is not to create a satellite that is dependent upon the mothership. Rather we get them up and running and they sustain themselves by their vision and resources," Armatas said.

"In Gulu, we designed a camp for 350 students, then they expanded it to 600 themselves. We got them going, but they kept it going and expanded themselves."

He says in the U.S. there is around $5 billion in third-world charity tourism, but he does not view that as a viable form of helping communities out.

Armatas gave the example of a man who cannot afford a gift for his children: Giving a gift to him to give his children will humiliate him, but giving him a job to earn the money himself will uplift him.

So far the fund has raised around $533,000 for organizing five community schools. That may not sound like much by U.S. standards of building and operating schools, but it has given around 1,200 students a chance at an education.

"Our model is completely different. We empower these communities and it's hard to get them to understand that," he said. "We're not going to be here providing money year, after year, so you have to have a business plan that's self-sustaining."

The community is responsible for finding the land, acquiring building materials and forming a school board and district system.

The money from the St. Nektarios Education Fund goes toward onsite building management, facilities, administration, classroom equipment, water filtration and hygiene facilities.

"Hygiene and water are two basic needs for people to go to school," Armatas said, adding that for 280 students, he estimates they offer $182,000 in assistance. "It's not that much at all, when you consider what it would cost to do here."

Construction on a fourth school is underway — a 240-student high school in the isolated community of Butembe.

In a recent trip to visit one of the schools, as the locals showed off their facilities, he was delighted to find he wasn't recognized as a benefactor. He found the community knew the school was theirs — that they had built it from the ground up — and took pride in it.

He said, as a volunteer-ran organization, 95 percent of donations goes to the project, while the remainder goes to local engineers and onsite project managers. For details on the project and on how to donate, visit iocc.org.

"I never expected where this would go. I saw there was a need and tried to address it in a limited way and it's gone beyond my wildest dreams," he said. "It's wonderful to realize that this idea of assisting people to stand on their own works and, when it's done right, it can flourish."

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